The present invention relates generally to the field of toy activity centers. More particularly, the invention relates to a doll nursery center.
Children enjoy playing with stuffed animals, dolls and figurines. Boys and girls alike often spend significant amounts of time playing with stuffed animals, dolls and figurines, and mimicking various human activities including eating, sleeping and playing. Children also enjoy role playing and, in particular, playing the role of a parent where the child pretends that the doll, stuffed animal or figurine is its baby. In many instances, a child will: prop a doll into a chair in order to pretend to feed the doll; lay a doll down in a make shift cradle and pretend to rock the doll to sleep; or place the doll in a swing or rocking chair and swing the doll. Children also enjoy singing lullabies or playing music to their dolls.
There are many known individual high chairs, individual bassinets and individual swings that are particularly adapted to accommodate a child""s doll, stuffed animal or figurine and to facilitate the child""s role playing. Such high chairs are supplied in numerous and varied shapes and sizes. Such bassinets and swings are typically manually operated and are distinctly separate devices.
Existing toy high chairs, toy bassinets and toy swings have a number of drawbacks. Each of these devices are typically designed as separate items requiring a parent or guardian who is seeking to obtain these toys for a child, to obtain three separate products. For many parents, purchasing three separate toys can be prohibitively expensive or burdensome. Further, each of these toys occupies a large amount of space and, for many households attempting to store three large toys of this type is very difficult. Additionally, because the toy high chairs, toy bassinets and toy swings are designed as inherently separate items, the probability of one or more of these toys becoming misplaced is very high in many households. Toy bassinets or toy swings typically are manually operated and require the child to repeatedly manipulate the bassinet or swing in order to achieve the desired rocking motion. Toy high chairs, bassinets or toy swings typically do not produce sounds, such as music.
Thus, there is a need for a doll nursery center that conveniently combines the features of a toy high chair, toy bassinet and a toy swing in a single toy, thus eliminating the need to purchase and store three separate toys. It would be advantageous to provide a single toy which includes the features of these three separate toys, takes up less storage space than the three individual toys collectively, and is less expensive to purchase than the three separate toys. What is needed, in part, is a toy bassinet and a toy swing which is configured to automatically rock or swing a child""s doll, stuffed animal or figurine. It would be advantageous to provide a toy high chair, toy bassinet and a toy swing which is capable of producing sounds such as lullabies or baby sounds. It further would be advantageous to provide a doll nursery center which is fun, safe and easy to use for children.
According to a principal aspect of the invention, a nursery includes a frame, a bassinet, a swing, a single drive unit and a coupling mechanism. The bassinet and the swing are supported by the frame. The drive unit is connected to the frame. The coupling assembly is operably coupled to the drive unit and has first and second outputs. The first output is pivotally coupled to the bassinet and the second output is pivotally coupled to the swing The coupling assembly is configured to transfer the drive unit output to one of the swing and the bassinet such that the either the swing or the bassinet swing relative to the frame.
According to anther aspect of the invention, an apparatus is provided for selectably operating at least two separate features of a toy. The apparatus includes a frame, first and second devices coupled to the frame, a control device, a single drive unit, and a gear assembly. The single drive unit is coupled to the frame and is operably coupled to the control device. The drive unit has a drive shaft configured to produce a first output movement and a second output movement in response to first and second control signals, respectively, from the control device. The gear assembly is coupled to the frame, and the gear assembly includes a pivoting member and first and second output assemblies. The pivoting member is operably coupled at a first end to the drive shaft. The pivoting member is positionable between two positions. In a first position, a second end of the pivoting member operably connects to the first output assembly in response to the first output movement of the drive shaft. In a second position, the second end of the pivoting member operably connects to the second output assembly in response to the second output movement of the drive shaft. The first and second output assemblies are operably coupled to the first and second devices, respectively.
According to anther aspect of the invention, an electronic play center includes a frame, first and second movable devices, a drive mechanism, and a relocatable transmitter actuation device. The frame has at least one actuator receiving port. The first and second movable devices are supported by the frame. The drive mechanism is Coupled to the frame and to the first and second movable devices. The relocatable transmitter actuation device is removably connected to the frame. The actuation device includes a sound transducer, a circuit and a plurality of switches. The sound transducer is connected to the actuation device and is configured to produce sounds. A plurality of switches are coupled to the actuation device and a circuit is connected to the actuation device. The circuit is electrically coupled to the sound transducer and to the plurality of switches. The circuit is configured to operate in response to the position of the plurality of switches and to generate a plurality of signals for controlling the sound transducer and at least one of the first and second movable devices.
This invention will become more fully understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings described herein below, and wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts.